


A Drag

by gobananas (bananasplitpancakes)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Bonding (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Dynamics (Naruto), F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Misogyny, Romance, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, slight crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:13:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28336743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananasplitpancakes/pseuds/gobananas
Summary: In which Sikamaru’s lowkey highkey misogyny bites him in the ass and Sakura’s self-confidence nosedives and manifests in very specific circumstances.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Nara Shikamaru
Comments: 5
Kudos: 159





	A Drag

**Author's Note:**

> Gonna get real angsty before it gets real cute and slightly cracky.

Sakura hums a little as she leaps across the rooftops, two hands carefully cradling a steaming hot takeout bag of dumplings.

Shika’s favorite—spicy chicken with mushrooms.

She’s gotten off shift from the hospital early for once in her life—okay, maybe she’s exaggerating a little, maybe it’s only been a month and a half or something. But still. She knows Shika’s position as the Hokage’s advisor has him in on a pretty routine schedule so he should be home already. She’s excited to surprise him—has her chakra tamped down to nothing so she can really get the jump on her lazy boyfriend and get in some _quality_ time with her boyfriend.

As Sakura approaches his apartment building she huffs a little as she notices multiple spots of chakra in his apartment. Damn. He might have invited Chouji and some of their friends over already if he thought she was getting off at 8pm like usual.

She lands lightly on a ledge next to his balcony window and edges her body closer to the glass pane, back pressed tightly against the grey wall and ears perking when she hears her name.

“—and Sakura have been together for a few months now huh? That’s awesome!” Sakura strains her ears—she thinks that was Chouji—and curses that she can’t funnel chakra to her eardrums to enhance her hearing given she’s trying for stealth.

“Mmm.” Shikamaru with an exhale, and Sakura is sure he’s smoking indoors. Something she’s told him she _hates_. “Yeah. She’s a drag.”

If Sakura were in the room facing him she might’ve been able to see SHikamaru rolling his eyes, a hint of bashfulness and blush in his face. But she can only hear him from her position just outside his balcony.

And so her heart _twists_ , just so.

She—

Sakura is moving away from the balcony, already bounding across the rooftops towards a training ground she can’t sense anyone at.

Her mind is a raging storm.

Her feet land on damp grass and absently she drops the bag of dumplings as she slowly crumbles onto the grass.

_Breathe_.

Sakura doesn’t think specifically of when she was five and she watched her father slap her mother across her face, roaring that Mebuki was pathetic and _she was being such a ball and chain._

Of when she was eleven and twelve and Sasuke was telling her she was useless, and weak, and pathetic. And then later when they were older and he was trying to drive his hand through her chest.

Of when Kakashi had left her to her own devices during the Chunin exams and then absconded the second Naruto had left the village with Jiraiya.

She doesn’t think specifically of how the people in her life have left her because she’s weak. Because she holds them back. Because she’s not worthy of their love, their affection. She doesn’t need to think about it when she knows it, deep in her bones.

She’d… forgotten. Slipped up. Been careless—she needs to put her best foot forward, always. To make sure she’s in top form—not being a useless, pathetic, deadweight. In combat and in love.

So what she does think about, very specifically, is she can do her best to make sure Shikamaru isn’t disappointed with her anymore. So she’s not a drag to him anymore.

Shikamaru who has options out there like Temari, sister to the esteemed Kazakage. Who is heir to the Nara clan and is Kakashi’s most trusted advisor.

Shikamaru, who held her when she’d lost three patients in a row during the Fourth Great War. Who had taken her out on dates in the aftermath of the rebuild and snuck kisses, and then more, under dimly lit street lamps and their apartment hallways. Who met up with her during lunch breaks to eat and watch the clouds. Who pestered her to play shogi with him and then grumbled when she wants to watch romcoms but then cuddles and watches with her anyways.

There. That.

He always grumbles about the romcoms. They both like action too—Sakura can change that.

Shikamaru always rolls his eyes when she comments about his smoking—she can stop nagging him about it and maybe just check up on his lungs when he’s asleep.

Sakura carefully flits through the months—nearly a year—of interactions they’ve had and notes down any negative tics Shikamaru has had in her presence as well as corrective, positive actions she can take. She stands, smoothing out her skirt and gently picking up the bag of dumplings, and walks back to his apartment.

When she knocks on the door and Shikamaru opens it after a beat she only smiles, making no comment of how the balcony door is wide open from him attempting to fan out his cigarette smoke and hide the evidence from her. Instead she waves to their friends inside—Chouji and Kiba—and gently presses a kiss to his lips. “I picked up your favorite dumplings, Shika-kun!”

* * *

Sakura thinks things are going exceedingly well.

When her daily schedule permits she carefully plans, prepares, and cooks Shikamaru’s favorite dishes.

_Shikamaru groaned “troublesome girl” as he was eating her out, so she’s become much more proactive in initiating blowjobs. She glows at seeing the absolute pleasure in his face when she looks up, fingers busy preparing herself._

They’ve gone cloud watching more often and Sakura has begun reading Shogi books so she can make it more exciting when they play.

_Sakura still hasn’t met his parents yet but he eats dinner with them every week. She adjusts the collar on his shirt after they make out in the hallway and then he heads out. She goes back to her apartment and curls up on the couch with a glass of wine and tries to avoid thinking about the disaster her parents are._

They’ve gone through her entire to-watch list of action movies.

_“What a drag. But sure.” He’d muttered when she asked if he wanted to come hang out with her and Team 7—though just Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai. They were slowly but surely mending and rebuilding bridges with Sasuke’s return and Sakura wanted Shikamaru, her precious person, to be a part of it. She didn’t mention it the next time Team 7 met up again._

She hasn’t breathed a word about his cigarette habits.

She—

Shikamaru hasn’t said his favorite catchphrases—the ones that send her heart pounding, breath shaking—at her in weeks.

Sakura thinks she’s doing a great job.

* * *

Sasuke eyes Sakura, giggling next to Shikamaru. The couple are a little further down the table than where he’s seated in between Naruto and Sai. The two other males are seated next to their girlfriends as well, Hinata and Ino, so of course they’ve been of absolutely no use to the investigation tonight.

Investigation “What is up with Sakura.”

It’s the perfect opportunity— _all_ of Konoha Twelve and their senseis, and associated friends (Temari and Kankuro, of all people, too), are miraculously in town and have gathered to have a good time in the _Rusty Kunai_. They’re all spread out over a couple of tables, having played a few drinking games already and have since settled into small groups of drunken conversations.

For weeks now Sasuke has thought something was _off_ with Sakura. He’s seen her at her worst (when she was a twelve year old fangirling over him) and her scariest (creating mini earthquakes and throwing him through trees in the training grounds). For a little while now she’s been… He’s hesitant to even _think_ it—subdued.

Haruno Sakura is never fucking subdued. Not even when she was a fangirl—she’d just blush and scream at him even more when he tried to shut it down.

Sasuke had approached Naruto and Sai about it one day after their sparring session and they’d agreed to keep an eye out.

And now the fucking dunderheads were too busy with their girlfriends to pay attention. But _oh._ Sasuke had ascended from the mortal coil and so he had the brains and eyes to watch.

Sasuke watches as Temari and Kankuro start chatting with Shikamaru and Sakura. And how Temari casually, subtly, asks after Shikaku and Yoshino and reminisces about Yoshino’s cooking.

Temari’s eyes are warm with calculation writ underneath. There’s a beautifully serene and warm smile on Sakura’s face but her eyes are shuttered.

Shikamaru casually lights up a cigarette and Sakura doesn’t so much as twitch, even though she’d caught Sai smoking one once in his experimental forays and had thrown him and the cigarette into a lake.

Sasuke watches as the conversation pivots to Kankuro and the Sand-nin laments his latest breakup and how his ex-girlfriend just hadn’t understood the beauty of puppetry (aka his dolls). _Ah_ , Sasuke thinks as Shikamaru nods and mutters “Women are troublesome like that” and Sakura’s smile grows wider.

_It’s because of that fucking Nara—_

Sasuke savagely pinches Naruto and Sai on the ribs (they’ll definitely bruise before the night is over), and as they startle to attention Sasuke is already slamming his hands on the table.

* * *

Given the din of the bar Sasuke slamming his hands on the table doesn’t make much of a dent in the noise level or draw the attention from the rest of the bar. However, it’s enough for most of their group of friends to begin looking over—in the midst of smaller conversations—and then fully drag their attention over as Sasuke stands, leans over the table, and grabs Shikamaru by the front of his shirt.

“Don’t fucking talk about women like that and you better not have talked about Sakura like that either.” Sasuke snarls out.

Several eyebrows are raised at this point. Of all people, Sasuke is probably one of the last to come to mind for stepping up to bat against misogony or for Sakura. He also hasn’t had an… ‘unhinged social moment’ in a while.

“Dude calm down, what are you talking about—,“ Shikamaru huffs out.

“Tch. And you.” Sasuke swivels venomous eyes to Sakura. “You’re just going to sit there and let her get her licks in like that? You throw us through trees for breathing wrong near you some days.”

Shikamaru looks over to Sakura. Her eyes are wide as she looks at Sasuke, then to Shikamaru, and then back.

“I-I don’t…” Alarm rings through Shikamaru as her eyes go slightly glossy and she takes a shuddering breath. “I don’t want to talk about this here, Sasuke.”

She smiles weakly.

“Hmm.”

Shikamaru thinks he’s not the only one who feels like they’re losing the plot when all of a sudden _Kakashi_ —who’d been sitting at the farthest end of the tables—is standing right behind Sakura and everyone is exchanging glances all over the place. Except for a few individuals—namely, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai staring down Shikamaru still and Kakashi pinning down Sakura.

“Sakura-chan, does your stomach hurt? Want to go for a walk?” Kakashi eye smiles down at her and Sakura’s face has gone an odd mix of teary, horror, and mulishness.

“…Sure.” She huffs, getting to her feet and kissing Shikamaru’s cheek briefly. “I’ll get us more beers when I get back in.”

Kakashi throws Shikamaru a dark glare before he begins herding Sakura out.

Sasuke also sneers as he releases Shikamaru’s shirt. Then he, Naruto, and Sai stand as well to follow Kakashi and Sakura out, going around the table and past Shikamaru’s side to do so.

Sai hangs back a bit to lean in towards Shikamaru’s ear, face placidly calm.

“Sakura has been quite unlike herself lately.” He murmurs quietly, so that only Shikamaru can hear. “It seems like you may be the cause. So don’t count on her coming back if you are.”

Sai straightens and glides out, leaving Shikamaru and the rest of their friends to stare at Team 7’s abrupt departure.

“What the fuck just happened there?” Ino asks, blue eyes digging into Shikamaru’s dark ones.

His mind is already whirling as he shrugs. Conversations pick back up after a moment—Team 7 has the _weirdest_ dynamics and Sasuke is not a social butterfly so no one is too fussed about what just happened—and Shikamaru ignores Temari and Kankuro’s attempts to restart their conversation as his mind replays the past five minutes and further.

When Sakura and the rest of Team 7 haven’t come back after an hour Shikamaru heads out, hand carelessly waving goodbye, and goes back to his apartment. Sakura isn’t there either.

He slips into comfier clothes and lies there in bed, missing her warmth and mind _still_ infuriatingly trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and not being able to do so.

Everything has been seemingly great between him and Sakura.

Shikamaru’s mind flickers through the past few weeks. What’s been… off?

He falls into a hazy state of sleepy awakness, mind slowing.

This is all such a drag, he thinks to himself.

His eyes snap open.

One and a half months ago Sakura came back with cold dumplings—his favorite spicy chicken ones. The stand that sells them are right outside the Medical Center and from there to his apartment, by rooftop, takes less than five minutes. They shouldn’t have been that cold.

Why were they cold?

* * *

The six of them—Tenzo had been summoned as well—are in a puppy pile. Sort of.

Sakura is sprawled diagonally across Kakashi and Tenzo and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai are somewhat wrapped around and on top of her. It’s a mess of bodies.

“Sakura, c’mon.” Naruto whines quietly in the dark and against her stomach, given his octopus curl around her midsection. “Sasuke-teme was the first to notice something wrong. That’s when you know it’s really bad!”

Sakura begins sniffling quietly from where her head is pillowed on Kakashi’s chest. Sai is curled up against her leg, Sasuke on her shoulder. Tenzo’s hand is resting on her hip and one of Kakashi’s hands is in her hair. She knows she is loved. That they love her and she loves them.

Slowly, surrounded by the warmth of her team, she whispers her fears.

“I overhead Shika saying I was a drag.”

_“Never, Sakura-chan. You’re the one dragging us—to the hospital especially.”—Kakashi._

“I don’t… I don’t want to be a drag to him. Or a troublesome woman. So I just… tried to be better.”

_“Tch. I’m going to kill that Nara.”—Sasuke._

“I haven’t met his family yet even though it’s almost been a year. Temari met them about two months in.”

_“They’re missing out on your amazing grilled saury, Sakura-chan.”—Tenzo._

“I don’t know what to do.”

_“All the books I’ve read on relationships have said communication is key. You could talk with him and express your discomfort in his words and actions.”—Sai._

“I just…”

_“Sakura-chan. We believe in you, dattebayo! You deserve the world!”—Naruto._

“I love you guys.”

_“We love you too.”_

* * *

“Sakura, please.” Shikamaru murmurs, taking her hand. “Talk to me.”

They’re sitting at a park bench a little ways from the farmers market. It’s two days after that night out at the bar. The day after, Shikamaru had spent half of it hanging around his apartment, and the other half at her apartment, waiting for Sakura. Today, he’d actively tracked her down to being in the middle of buying broccoli, Naruto gagging at her side and Sasuke putting tomatoes into her hands.

Those two are visibly glaring holes into Shikamaru’s head from fifty meters away as Sakura glances down at the bench slats.

“I overheard you calling me a drag.”

Shikamaru’s stomach drops.

“…Come on, Sakura, you know I don’t really mean it like that—“

“So I tried really hard to not be a drag, or troublesome, to you.” Sakura finally looks back up and Shikamaru freezes at the tears running down her face.

His mind is far from frozen though—thinking about how she hasn’t mentioned his smoking in ages. He’d always called her troublesome when she nagged him about it. And he thought he was imagining it when recently all Sakura seemed to want to do in bed was pleasure only him. And it’s been a while since she invited him to hang out with Team 7—which honestly does drive him crazy because their team is just _so weird_ but it’s always amusing to watch.

“—And this all really stems a lot from my own insecurities and projecting onto you—like I think part of me thought that if I was a better girlfriend you wouldn’t be so ashamed to introduce me to your parents cause the other night Temari said she met your mom like, two months in—“

Sakura continues and Shikamaru feels like he’s moving through molasses, dread in his veins as he processes her words and watches her sob.

“I love you.” She whispers miserably, and Shikamaru feels his heart crack. “…But I need to work out some things in myself and I don’t want to drag you down. Can we… take a break?”

Shikamaru can only gape at her, too stunned at the deluge to respond. And after a moment, Sakura just nods.

“Okay.”

She makes to get off the bench and one, Shikamaru absently hears Naruto absolutely _snarl_ from where he and Sasuke are standing. Two, he snags her wrist.

“No.” He hears himself murmur.

Shikamaru didn’t mean to make Sakura feel like she was a burden to him, but he’s realizing it’s still what he’s done. With his careless words and actions. He should have known better, given she’s told him about her previous insecurities with her teammates. His parents, Ino, Chouji—a ton of people, honestly—have always ribbed at him for his lackadaisical and slightly sexist comments. But always in a joking manner, and Shikamaru has grown accustomed to people not taking it seriously. He’s not serious about it ninety-nine percent of the time. But Sakura did.

He also hadn’t introduced her to his parents because it was… troublesome. They tease him all the time about how he’s so serious about Sakura. About having her in his future. Their future. He didn’t want to bring Sakura to meet them because it would have been a big deal and he had thought it’d be too much work to deal with it. But… it is a big deal. Sakura’s a big deal to him so he _should_ have just put in the effort to introduce her to his parents, _because she’s worth it_ , and he doesn’t know how he’s fucked it up this badly.

How his actions and words have made her feel like—

Like he doesn’t cherish every second he can get with her.

Like she needs to change her fiery behavior to stay with him.

Like he doesn’t love her just as much as she loves him.

Like he doesn’t care about her.

He’s dulled her shine with his carelessness and his mind is already planning how he can spend the rest of his days making sure she knows each and every second that he loves her. Wants to be at her side. Thinks the world of her.

Shikamaru pulls her into his lap, dark eyes locking onto her green eyes feverishly.

“No.” He repeats.

For starters, he needs her to know.

“I love you, Sakura. You’re not a drag and you’re not troublesome and I’m sorry I made you think that, feel that, _believe that_. And it’s not _you_ who needs to work through your issues, it’s _me_ that needs to step up.”

Shikamaru gently brings both hands to cup her face, tears running down his own face now as well.

“I don’t want to take a break—if you’ll put up with me as I work out the kinks in my words and actions.” He whispers. “…Please. I love you—you deserve better and I want to be better.”

“No, no, Shika, I love you too but it’s not your fault—“ Sakura murmurs.

“It’s his fault.” Sasuke coughs out and Shikamaru and Sakura both jump, as they notice that somehow Sasuke and Naruto are casually lounging around only ten meters from them.

“Do you promise you’ll be better? Sakura is the best, and you better believe it! And show her and tell her that every day!” Naruto pins Shikamaru with a glare.

And okay, Sasuke and Naruto are totally Team 7-ing it and interfering with Sakura and Shikamaru’s relationship patch up drama now.

Seriously, their team has absolutely no sense of social boundaries sometimes.

Still, Shikamaru nods seriously at Naruto and then back at Sakura.

“I promise.” Sakura nibbles at her lower lip.

“Say yes.” Sasuke coughs out again. Sakura shoots him a viciously dirty glare before softening, and turning back to Shikamaru.

She nods hesitantly. “I still have work to do myself—confidence wise—but I want to do it with you.”

Shikamaru feels the knot in his heart loosen and he surges forward, laying a firm kiss on her lips. “I love you, Sakura. And I’ll never let you forget that again.”

“I love you too, Shikamaru.” Sakura kisses him back just as fiercely and Shikamaru can feel the smiles growing on both their faces as they literally kiss and make up.

He’s still got a lot of making up to do. But for now, he’ll bask in the moment and be glad for the chance to do so.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke scrunch their faces as Sakura and Shikamaru commence making out on the park bench, turning away to give the couple some modicum of privacy.

“Gross.” Sasuke murmurs, but Naruto catches the flush of pink across is face.

“Yeah, but shut up. You totally thought that was a Cute MomentTM too. Shikamaru’s pretty eloquent when he needs to be, huh.”

“…Yeah.”


End file.
